1 minute read
Transport
Take the bus
By Reine Bethany
At one time, the n88 carried 8,700 people from the Freeport Long Island Rail Road station to and from Jones Beach State Park concerts. Then came the coronavirus, and the n88 simply disappeared.
But as vaccinations continued to spread across Long Island, so did NICE’s confidence to bring the popular route back, re-introducing partial service in summer 2021, before resuming a nearly full pre-pandemic schedule in early 2022.
It didn’t hurt that concerts resumed at the Jones Beach Theater at about the same time.
Ron Delsener, chair of Live Nation Entertainment’s New York market, explained in late 2021 that prior to introducing the n88, summer crowds coming from Manhattan and Brooklyn to Jones Beach on the LIRR would get off the train, and then have to find their own way for the last leg of the trip.
Daily n88 service from the Freeport LIRR station runs between 8:28 a.m. and 8:28 p.m., going to all three Jones Beach bathhouses. From Freeport, the n88 is an express ride to and from the beach.
NICE accepts its GoMobile payment app, MTA MetroCard or coins for fare payment. Passengers can feel good about riding buses in one of the cleanest-burning and least environmentally impactful systems, the transit organization said, with one of the smallest carbon footprints among bus services.
But even with the pandemic waning, passengers are still required to wear face masks.
Yet, it has to be worth it. The sun. The sand. The surf. The wind. All of it has become that much more accessible, thanks to Freeport’s well-developed transport routes.
Reine Bethany/Herald Photo: Promoter Ron Delsener, center, former county executive Laura Curran, and NICE chief executive Jack Khzouz announce the resumption of the n88 dedicated bus service on weekends, from Freeport to Jones Beach State Park. The n88 now runs seven days a week.
